Night photography
Had the opportunity to do some night photography with local photographer John Aho. John has developed a technique where he uses battery powered LED’s to light up a scene in unique ways. He strategically places these boxes that he designed and built so that the scene takes different looks at night. Then, he uses a giant “searchlight” — which he also developed — to further highlight specific areas.
Once all the lights are in place, and the composition is set, you take a long time exposure (usually around 20 seconds) and during the time the lens is open he uses the “searchlight” to give additional emphasis to specific areas. The results are quite interesting. Here are some of my shots, taken at the Drover House in the Arboretum.
Took this picture a few days ago during daylight.
Front of the house
The moon was just starting to appear behind the trees
Picket Post Mansion
Back in the 1920’s, wealthy industrialist Boyce Thompson fell in love with Arizona. Of course, owning a silver and copper mine in the area didn’t hurt, either. In any case, he built a mansion in one of the nearby valleys. The house took five years, and over a million dollars to build. The grounds were extensively manicured, and desert plants from around the world graced the grounds. Mr. Thompson spent large amounts of money to establish what became known as the Boyce Thompson Arboretum. The grounds were donated to the state in the late 1920’s, and is now an Arizona State Park.
After his death, the house sat idle, and in 1946 was sold to a third party. It served briefly as a bed and breakfast, but eventually sat empty again. It was sold to the State Park in 2008, which currently maintains the building. It is known as the Picket Post Mansion (because of the mountain behind it) as well as Castle on the Rocks. For only the second time, it will be opened to the public this weekend.
Since we are volunteers at the Park, we had a chance to view the Mansion before it opened to the public. The house, and grounds, are quite spectacular. We wish we could have seen it during it’s glory days in the late 1920’s.
East entrance to the house. The bridge leads from the house to the tower (now gone) where Boyce Thompson liked to site and relax.
Main (front) entrance
The Arboretum (west) side
The view into the Arboretum
The ball room, with stained glass doors to the balcony
One of the many bedrooms
Master bathroom with heart shaped tub
Another of the bedrooms
Still more bedrooms
A finely detailed sink and cabinet
The large stove in the main kitchen
Weaver Needle
There is a hike in the Superstition Mountains that leads to a beautiful view of Weaver’s Needle. This seemed like a good choice, but we never made it all the way. It is a very technical and difficult hike, with big rocks and loose shale to contend with. And the temperatures in the Arizona desert sun made for some high temperatures!
On top of that, I was feeling a bit out of sorts, and when things didn’t get better we decided to head back down. Too bad, we almost made it: we turned around less than 1/2 mile from the Needle. Maybe next time….
The view at the start of Weaver Canyon trail
Not exactly a walk in the park
Every valley is higher....
... and leads to yet another canyon.
Close to the top, a balancing rock
The view back down was spectacular
You never get tired of the scenery
On the way back we saw this unusual flower on a Cholla cactus
The Superstition Mountains are considered the most rugged in the country
Superstition Mountains intro
Not far from us is the Superstition Mountain range, location of the fabled Lost Dutchman mine. This mine was originally Apache territory, and was supposed to be what Cordoba (Spanish monk) was looking for when he explored this area in the early 1800’s.
Over the years, some people have found some of the gold but the main lode is as yet undiscovered. And many people have died, trying. And not just centuries ago, either. People have been lost, and bodies found under unusual circumstances, as late as the 1960’s. So there is a lot of history to this area, and some fascinating stories.
But we were more interested in the many hiking trails. This is rugged territory, and you have to be prepared, and we are. So we set out on an exploratory hike up to the base of the mountains. The weather was cloudy and a bit cool (for this area). Our starting point was Lost Dutchman State Park. It was a relatively easy 3 mile hike, and we are looking forward to more to come.
Superstition Mountains, viewed from the Apache Junction side
"Praying hands" formation
Looking back towards Apache Junction
Cactus blossoms
We tend to think of cactus as green prickly things. But they also have very colorful and unique blooms. The actual blooming period is short, leaving little time to admire them. Fortunately, here at the Arboretum, there is a huge variety of plants, from different continents. As a result, there are usually blooms to enjoy.
Here are some pictures taken on an afternoon walk. The varieties of cacti are amazing.
Some cacti change color, instead of blooming.
Here, the whole plant changes color
Not all cacti are prickly....
Blossom buds on a barrel cactus
Strange looking cacti blooms
This cactus has a real flowering blossom
Almost looks like a fancy ice cream treat
Plain, yet colorful in itself
More unusual blossoms
This is so symmetrical
Another barrel cactus
Not all cacti are green....
Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Introduction
Boyce Thompson was a school dropout who made it big on Wall Street and Arizona mining in the 1920’s. He fell in love with this area and built a winter house on 300+ acres. After his death, this became an Arizona State Park, maintained in conjunction with the University of Arizona. Now, it is the biggest Arboretum in the US, and host desert life from around the world.
There are different hikes through different vegetation. There are zones for different world regions (Australia and Africa, for example) as well as plant types (herb gardens, Eucalyptus trees, legumes etc.). There are hummingbird, dragonfly and butterfly areas, and much more. I hope we can visit all of them while we are here.
We will be volunteering here for 6 weeks. Our jobs will be to work in the visitor center, where we will collect money, pass out maps, and prove information to visitors. In order to do this, we will be learning all about the area. This is something we enjoy, and Romola and I are looking forward to learning about desert plants.
In any case, it will be quite a change from the Northwest! So today, we took our first hike along the many trails through the Arboretum. Below are some pictures showing our first impressions. I’m sure many more blogs will follow with specifics about animal and plant life.
A choice parking spot on the Arboretum grounds.
Our first sunset in the Arboretum. Right from our motorhome door!
A view from the parking lot
Prickly pear cacti are in abundance
This may be the desert, but there is lots of color
Cactus of all kinds
Even green plants can have color
A Boojum tree, this one is young....
And this is a full grown Boojum tree.
Ayer lake, water source for the Arboretum
Looking down into Queens Valley
We are in the desert, and these signs are for real....
Not a rattler, but we gave this 6ft Racer Snake a wide berth
Desert plant life
San Juan Capistrano
The mission at San Juan Capistrano is famous for its swallows, but historically it is one of the oldest and largest mission dating back to the mid 1700’s. A major earthquake in 1812 destroyed much of the facility, and it fell into disuse. But in the 1900’s restoration was begun, and now it has been restored as a major tourist attraction.
Note that it has been restored as ruins, to reflect as much as possible the way it was after the ‘quake. It remains as one of the most visited historical sites on the west coast.
We also would like to thank our hosts. Linda and Rainer were most gracious and we enjoyed their company — and hospitality.
We had to climb over Ortega Pass to get to San Juan Capistrano. Great view back, but a dangerous road!
The grounds are colorful with plants
Inside the monastery
Home of the swallows
Inside the chapel
The bells of the monastery
Some of the columns
Linda, our most gracious host
Inside the quake damaged nave
This is — Los Angeles?????
OK OK, maybe we’re on the outskirts here in Sun City, CA but after an hour in LA traffic I feel like I’m smack dab in the middle of it. Although, our camp site sure doesn’t look like it… check the pictures below.
It has been hot here, mid 90’s in the afternoon. And this is an older park, with only 30 Amp power, so we can only run one (of our 3) air conditioners. Fortunately, it cools down into the 50’s overnight so sleeping is not a problem.
But when the wind blows from the north, we get a snoot full of dairy cow. It’s a wonder animals that smelly can produce such tasty dairy products!
This is part of the entry to the RV park.
And here is our humble abode, parked.
Looking to the east, a farmer is plowing fields...
..... and looking to the north,milk in the making.
Lone Pine Lake and 10,000 ft. atitude
Mt. Whitney is the tallest mountain in the US, and there is a hiking trail to the summit. Special permission is required, but not for the first 1/3, so we decided to give it a go today. What a great hike, and experience! The drive itself was fascinating, as you can see the road that take you to the Portal, at 8,350 ft. From there, it is a 3 mile hike, all uphill, to Lone Pine Lake.
This is definitely mountain terrain, so some care is required. However, it wasn’t that difficult, even the altitude — we topped out just over 10,000 feet. The lake was spectacular! We met lots of people on day hikes (like us) as well as those on the way up to, or coming from, the summit.
After the hike, we had a lunch at a local diner, then went for a tour of the Alabama Mountains. These are really very rocky foothills, and a favorite area to make movies and TV shows, particularly westerns. Stars such as Gene Autry, Roy Rodgers, Humphrey Bogart, Chuck Norris, Mel Gibson, Randolph Scott and many more. Classic movies such as High Sierra, Maverick, Gunga Din, Lone Ranger, How the West was Won, and Tremors were filmed here. An interesting side trip, although we ran out of time to visit the (supposedly excellent) Movie Museum in town.
Mt. Whitney, viewed from our RV in the park
Check out the road to the Portal - that's steep!
Magnificent scenery on the road to the Portal
Ready to start the hike
On the trail, heading up the mountain
Crossing Lone Pine Creek - don't slip!
Looking back down the valley. We started WAY down there!
Looking up the mountain. See the moon?
There you go: above 10,000 ft.
A view of Lone Pine Lake. Relaxing break before we head back
Add a little log walking to the challenge
Heading back down. Hard to keep your eyes on the trail!
Another view downhill
The Alabama Mountains, from Movie Lane
Romola viewed through the lower arch
Classic Whitney-through-the-arch shot
Lake Tahoe area
We spent the weekend in Carson City, NV, parked in the RV lot of a casino. Actually, it was inexpensive, the park adequate, and Romola won enough to pay for dinners and two nights stay. Who says you can’t beat the odds?
Saturday we went on a hike to Skunk Cove, a beautiful cove on Lake Tahoe. Here we found the summer home of a wealthy industrialist, who had the home — along with guest quarters, separate kitchens, etc. etc. built in 1927. Cost was no object, all the stones and other materials were shipped by boat as there was no road. The hike itself was fairly strenuous as it dropped 700 feet or so to the lake. Of course, we had to hike back uphill all the way…. and at 8,000 ft. altitude as well!
Sunday we decided on a less strenuous hike around Spooner Lake. We saw strange, colorful objects hanging from tress, and had no idea what these were. We were unaware that this was a special Arts weekend, and there were magic acts, singers, dancers and specialist acts around the lake. Each of these objects meant some act was nearby. Sure made for a different hike!
A view of Lake Tahoe from the road to Reno
Part way down. You can see the cove almost in the middle of this picture.
A view from Skunk Cove
And another view from Skunk Cove
The summer home, part of the main building
The trail to the lake. Lots of Aspens!
A view of the lake
Another view of the lake, through the pine trees
What was this strange object, hanging from a tree?
A singer along the trail
No idea what this contraption was, but it was on bungee cords....
Laninga's Travel Blog 